I do what I have to
by lizfirestarter
Summary: Post HB II Fic, after the twins are born. Manning’s a prick; I love him. I guess you CAN bribe a hero if you have 300 thousand dollars.


**Character**: Liz Sherman

**Fandom**: Hellboy

**Rating**: PG-13 (language)

**Prompt**: scifi_muses Week 2 Vol. 7

_"You cannot bribe a hero. My heart is true. My spirit unbreakable." – Hiro_

**Setting**: Post Hellboy II

**AN**: Manning's a prick; I love him. I guess you CAN bribe a hero if you have 300 thousand dollars.

He's late. I can't believe he called me out of the blue, told me to meet him in this fancy restaurant and he has the nerve to be late. 30 minutes late. I hope this is worth it. I can't come up with any other options, really.

I stand and storm towards the door after waiting another 15 minutes. My eyes are down, embarrassed to be seen like I look in a place like this, when I slam right into him.

"Elizabeth, were you leaving?" Dr. Tom Manning's tone is as condescending as ever. He thinks he's better than me, better than us. What the hell am I even doing considering this?

"Please, sit down. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." He puts his hand on my back and guides me to the chair I was just sitting in, and then sits across from me. "It was unavoidable."

"Manning, the only reason I'm here is because of my family." I nearly spit in his face. Asshole. I can't believe I'm even considering this. I may as well cut off his small talk. I hate his small talk.

"Please, Agent…" He stops. He did that on purpose. He thinks it will bother me, calling me an agent. "I'm sorry, _Miss_ Sherman. There's no reason to be so defensive." He points to the menu when the waiter arrives and holds up 2 fingers, ordering for me even though I didn't ask him to.

"I'm not…" I call after the waiter; annoyed he's ignoring me. "Hungry." I finish, glaring at Manning.

"Take it home then. I'm sure Hellboy would love a meal like this, don't you?" He stirs his coffee and smirks at me. "How is your brutish boyfriend anyway?" He doesn't care. He's just trying to upset me.

"Husband." I snap back at him.

"Oh, made it official, did you? Congratulations." He laughs and shakes his head. "Wouldn't want to be living in sin with a demon, now would you?"

I slam my hands on the table and stand, leaning towards him. "Manning, do you want my help or not? Because I am this close to torching your sorry ass and walking out that door!" I don't care who sees me. I'm used to being stared at by now. He seems uncomfortable by it, though. That's something, makes me smile a bit.

"Liz," He glances around the room, nodding an smiling at the people looking at us. "No need to make a scene. You wouldn't want your husband to find out you're talking to me about a side job?" He leans back in his chair.

_Fuck, he's got me._ I sit back down in the chair and stare at him.

"If I help you, I want full access to the systems. _Everything_. I need that information so we can continue working." I hiss at him. " And the 50%, I'll need that today."

"Of course, my house is your house." He starts eating the salad the waiter set in front of him. I push the one set in front of me aside. "As for your payment." He reaches into his pocket and hands me a small stuffed envelope. "100 thousand now, 200 thousand more when you've complete your mission." He shrugs like he's throwing around milk money. The extra 100 grand is a nice touch though. That'll buy a lot of diapers.

"You do not breath a word of this to anyone." I continue. "It never happened, you understand?"

"Of course." He takes a sip of water and smiles at me. Neither of us speaks for some time. Not until he pulls a sealed envelope from a briefcase and hands it to me. "You know, you were always my favorite, Liz. Never understood want you saw in the stupid monkey though."

I can feel my eyes flare a bit. I have to keep it together. We need this; my family needs this. I ignore the comment. God, I hate Manning so much.

"You have my number." I stand, shoving the envelope of cash and the mission details in my jacket. "Day time is best, that's when Red's asleep." I add softly.

"Pleasure working with you again, Miss Sherman." He nods as I look down on him. "Or are you going by _Mrs. Un Rama_ now?" He drops his head and laughs. Doesn't even attempt to pretend he's hiding it. _Bastard_.

"Liz is fine, Manning." I say as I move towards the door.

_I can't believe I'm doing this._


End file.
